That’s all it took for Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall to realize he had made a major mistake that not only let Colorado back into the game but shifted the momentum Wednesday night at Robertson Stadium.

Just three minutes after Colin Clark had given the Dynamo the lead late in the second half, Hall overplayed a long free kick from Jamie Smith to let the Rapids tie the score in Colorado’s eventual 2-1 victory.

“I guess I made a colossal error, and the team paid for it,” Hall said. “Unfortunately it happens, and it happened today. I thought we played well enough to win.

“One goal is enough to win a game, and I feel like I let the team down today.”

Although they sorely missed injured central midfielder Geoff Cameron’s creativity, the Dynamo were in prime position to win with 19 minutes to play before a crowd of 13,206.

Clark had given the Dynamo a 1-0 lead in the 71st minute when midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson fed him the ball on the right side. Clark then maneuvered into the right corner of the 18-yard box before unleashing a powerful left-footed shot to beat Colorado goalkeeper Matt Pickens at the near post.

The lead didn’t last long, however.

Over the line

Smith tied the score in the 74th minute when he sent his 45-yard free kick over a stunned Hall, who got caught venturing too far off his line.

“I knew that Smith served a good ball in,” Hall said. “I guess I was overeager to come out and be big.

“I took two steps forward, realized I was going the wrong way and didn’t have enough recovery time to get back.”

Ten minutes later, the Dynamo fell behind 2-1. This time they paid for not being able to clear Marvell Wynne’s long throw-in inside the 18-yard box.

Bobby Boswell attempted to head the ball out, but his header hit fellow center back Andre Hainault in the back of the head. Boswell then attempted to clear the ball out only to see it carom toward Colorado defender Scott Palguta, who buried a shot in the right corner to give the Rapids (4-3-1) a 2-1 lead.

“To be up 1-0 and three minutes later give up a goal so soon is always deflating,” Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear said. “I thought we played OK after that, but on the second goal I thought we needed to do a better job of attacking the ball in the box.

“At the end, they were just knocking the ball forward to try and disturb us, and I think we were just a little hesitant to clear the ball at that time.”

With the loss to the defending MLS Cup champions, the Dynamo (3-2-3) had their six-game unbeaten streak snapped.

More alarming, perhaps, is the fact that both of the Dynamo’s defeats have come at home. But they won’t have much time to dwell on the loss as they play Saturday at Toronto FC.

On to the next one

“If you win or lose, you look forward to the next game with a quick turnaround,” Kinnear said. “You may not want to get out of bed tomorrow as quick as if you won the game, but I told the guys, ‘Here’s our record; we’re playing well right now.’

“Its unfortunate we’ve lost two games at home. The fashion in which we did is frustrating, but it’s a situation where the best thing to do is get back on the field. Training can be a bit laborious, but playing the game gets your juices going.”